Residency in Family Medicine at Southside Hospital

About us

For more than 40 years the family medicine residency program at Southside Hospital has prepped the physicians to provide exceptional care for children and families. This dynamic residency program draws on the strength and experience of its faculty to provide care to an extremely diverse patient population on the southern shore of Long Island.

Although the program was established a long time ago, it is continually growing and adapting to the ever-changing healthcare industry. Program faculty continually try to incorporating new technology and are working to find the best way to approach both patient care and resident education.

The Department of Family Medicine regularly schedules Family Medicine Academic Day sessions whereby each program takes a turn at hosting a session that has both a resident track and a faculty track.

Family medicine collaborates with other departments to provide targeted electives (e.g., pediatrics for global health, OB/GYN for women’s health, and orthopedics for sports medicine). The program also offers specific elective tracks for residents in their PGY-2 and PGY-3 years, including specialized training in global health, women’s health, leadership and advocacy, and clinical informatics. Electives are tailored to fit the corresponding curriculum for the specific track.

Residents participate in team research projects as a mandatory part of their training and are encouraged to undertake more intensive clinical research projects in collaboration with our faculty.

Each of the three residency years is divided into 13 four-week periods allowing for numerous opportunities with varied patient populations. The goal of the residency program is to provide training across the lifespan, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The following is an overview of the three years of training:

Message from the Program Director

Welcome to the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine Family Medicine Residency program at Southside Hospital! Over the past four decades, our well-established residency program has graduated over 300 family physicians. Our alumni excel in various positions (academic, administrative, clinical, and research) across the country. Our residency is one of five programs in New York State to have a voting chapter at the NYS Academy of Family Physicians. Our faculty and residents belong to various medical societies that promote the issues of family medicine. We take pride in the fact that over the last 40 years, we continue to grow and provide new opportunities for our residents to learn.

As of February 14th, 2011 Southside Hospital became a tertiary care center, allowing our residents and faculty even greater exposure to a variety of complex medical issues. The residents in our unopposed program are given ample opportunity in virtually every area of medicine: obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, adult medicine, geriatrics, care of surgical patients, emergency medicine, community medicine, and electives. From treating our patients in the comfort of their homes and in our community-based clinic to caring for them our inpatient facilities, our faculty, residents, and students exhibit a unique combination of skill and compassion. We place a strong emphasis on clinical skill and research. Family medicine residents learn new skills and practice new procedures in North Shore-LIJ’s state-of-the-art BioSkills Education Center as well as our Simulation Lab at the North Shore-LIJ Center for Learning and Innovation. All residents participate in research projects utilizing support from our faculty. These supported research projects typically culminate in presentations at regional, state, and national (and in some cases, international) medical conferences.

In 2011, North Shore-LIJ teamed with Hofstra University to open the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. The Hofstra medical students are involved with family medicine preceptors in the outpatient setting during their Initial Clinical Experience (ICE) and the inpatient setting during their Advanced Clinical Experience (ACE). Dr. Richard Bonanno and Dr. Neubert Philippe are the site directors for the ICE course located at the Southside Hospital site. The department of family medicine has an established Family Medicine Interest Group which is open to all students.

Our program also boasts an innovative family medicine clerkship for our external medical students. Each student is involved in a 4 week rotation which involves 3 weeks in the community setting with family medicine preceptors and a 1 week rotation with the family medicine residents on the inpatient setting. Students participate in academic activities including grand rounds, team based learning sessions, journal club, small group discussions on careers in family medicine, end of rotation quizzes, simulation and procedure workshops. Interested students have the opportunity to participate with residents and faculty on quality improvement initiatives and research projects. I work as the Director of Medical Education for this clerkship with Dr. Michael Delman and Dr. Richard Bonanno as key faculty.

We pride ourselves on having a diverse faculty and residency program and in collaborating with our sister residency programs at Glen Cove Hospital and Plainview Hospital. We hold regularly scheduled Family Medicine Academic Day sessions whereby each program takes a turn at hosting a session that has both a resident track and a faculty track. We have had a multi-site presentation at the Society of Family Medicine annual meeting and continue to develop programs that will lead to interaction between the three campuses.

We have collaborations with other departments to provide targeted electives (e.g., Pediatrics for Global Health, OB/GYN for Women’s Health, Orthopedics for Sports Medicine). We have also developed specific elective tracks for residents in their PGY-2 and PGY-3 years. In December of their PGY-1 year, residents may apply to have specialized training in either Global Health, Women’s Health, Leadership & Advocacy, or Clinical Informatics. Their electives are tailored to fit the corresponding curriculum for the specific track and upon successful completion, these residents will receive a certificate of training in that field.

Our future goals are to be more involved with community outreach projects, locally, nationally and internationally. We strive to provide the most inclusive experience for our residents hoping to foster the development of each resident in their career be it clinical, academic, administrative or research oriented. We are open to change and innovation. We want each person to achieve their goals and succeed in their chosen career path.

Take some time to come and visit our program! Let us be part of your journey into the world of family medicine!!

-Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, FAAFP, SFHM

Application Process

Applicants interested in the family medicine training program at Southside Hospital should apply through the electronic residency application service (ERAS), which allow applications starting Sept. 1

Helpful Links

Research

Residents participate in team research projects as a mandatory part of their training and are encouraged to undertake more intensive clinical research projects in collaboration with our faculty. Below is a list of the results of such collaborations over the past few years.

Faculty and Resident Research Publications, Posters, and Presentations 2011-2014

Bodoutchian A, Iroku-Malize T . Managing tobacco use and dependence in patients with hypertension. Poster Presentation at World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA). June 2013, Prague.

Bodoutchian A, Ramirez F, Velez T. Comparing Guidelines on Hypertension from Different Countries. Poster Presentation at World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA). July 2014, Lisbon.

De Castro, D; Rali, M. Adequacy of follow-up and management of atrial fibrillation at the continuity clinic. Poster Presented at Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference; May 2013; Baltimore, MD.

Magnifico C, Diago J, & Ordonez A. Diabetes management in a family medicine clinic. Oral Presentation at the Scientific Assembly New York State Academy of Family Physicians; Jan 2011; Lake Placid, NY.

Malaka D & Rali M. Prolonged use of metformin and its association with vitamin B-12 deficiency. Poster presented at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference; April 2012; Seattle, WA.

Rali M. Team based home visits. Oral Presentation at the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA) Sept 2011; Europe, Poland.

Rali M, Weitzman N, Iroku-Malize T. Impact of a 360 degree evaluation in family medicine residency through home visit curriculum. Poster Presented at American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly; October 2012; Philadelphia, PA.

Vera F, Vesey R, Rali M. Correlation between clinical and histopathological diagnosis of skin lesions in a primary care setting. Poster Presentation at Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Annual Conference. May 2014, San Antonio, TX.

Vera F, Vesey R, Rali M. Correlation between clinical and histopathological diagnosis of skin lesions in a primary care setting. Poster Presentation at World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA). July 2014, Lisbon.

Vesey MR. Team based learning and simulation in medical education. Workshop at the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors; June 2011; Kansas City, MO.

Vesey R, Rali M, Vera F. Effects of using favorite music to minimize fear and anxiety during dermatological procedures. Poster Presentation at World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA). July 2014, Lisbon

Our People

Program director

Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, FAAFP, SFHM

Chair of Family Medicine, North Shore-LIJ Health System

Associate Professor of Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine

Located close to Southside Hospital, residents spend their geriatric rotation at the Ross Center for Health and Rehabilitation.

Community placements

Residents gain experience in a host of elective community placements including outpatient pediatrics, geriatrics, pulmonary, orthopedics, neurology, and cardiology.

Our residents

PGY 3 Class

Huma Aslam, MD- Dr. Aslam was born in Sailkot, Pakistan and received her medical degree from Baqai Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan.

Zuhair Kabbara, MD- Dr Kabbara graduated from Kaunas University of Medicine in Lithuania. He has also worked in as a research assistant at Columbia University in the Department of Nephrology. He is multilingual, speaking English, Arabic, and Lithuanian and his interests include reading, classical music, swimming, basketball, and skiing.

Donald Leveille, MD- Dr. Leveille was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti where he completed his schooling at Quisqueya Christian School. He studied Biology at Florida International University and obtained is MD at Ross University School of Medicine. He was also a Junior Faculty at RUSM in the Behavioral Science Dept. His hobbies include photography and music production.

Cheif Resident Heera Motwani, MD.- Dr. Motwani was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He received MBBS degree from Dow Medical College; where he was an active member of several NGOs working for under served communities and also visited the earth quake hit areas of Pakistan in Oct, 2005. After graduation he worked as a general practitioner at local community hospitals where he developed the compassion for primary care. Before joining SSH Family Medicine Residency he worked as a research assistant at Winship Cancer Institute, Emory, GA.

Fernando Padilla, MD- Dr. Padilla was born Guatemala City, Guatemala and received his medical degree from Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala.

Cheif Resident Pooja Paunikar, MD, MPH- Dr. Paunikar was born in Ann Arbor, MI and received her medical degree at AUA. She majored in psychobiology at UCLA. Prior to medical school, she worked in clinical research and became interested in family medicine because of its impact on the community. She enjoys traveling and playing sports.

Claude-Murat Pluviose, MD.- Dr. Pluviose was born in Haiti and received his medical degree from the American University of Antigua (AUA). He attended St Joseph's College in Patchogue, NY, where he obtained his bachelor of science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. As someone who resides in the vicinity of the hospital, he is proud to be a resident at Southside Hospital, which has been serving the community for over 100 years. He is a fervent soccer fan (Arsenal F.C. is his favorite team) and plays basketball as well. Among his hobbies are music, literature and world travel.

Felix Ramirez, MD.- Dr. Ramirez was born in Cuba, where he also studied medicine, did two years on a rural service, and then completed a full residency in surgery, practicing surgery for five years in Cuba and one year in Gambia, West Africa. He worked as a house physician in Baptist Hospital of Miami, FL before coming to SSH FMRP. He enjoys watching and playing soccer. His favorite teams are Barcelona FC and Arsenal FC.

Tamas Ungar, MD- Dr. Ungar is of Hungarian origin. Raised in Vancouver, Canada, he majored in biology at the University of British Columbia and obtained his Medical Degree from the UAG School of Medicine in Mexico. He rotated at the Harrington Medical Training Program at the University of Miami before returning to Canada as the Medical Coordinator of The Umbrella Mobile Clinic, which serves migrant agricultural workers of the Vancouver Lower Mainland. For the record, Dr. Ungar also plays tennis and could easily beat his brother Andrew any day

Tania Velez, MD.- Dr. Velez was born in Cartagena, Colombia and received her MD from Cartagena University. After medical school, she worked as a General practitioner in Colombia and She worked as researcher in Cardiology in Boston, MA. She is fluent in Spanish and enjoys travelling. She also enjoys reading, dancing, and taking pictures.

PGY 2 Class

Andrea Caraccioli, MD- Dr. Caraccioli earned her medical degree at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras. She chose Southside Hospital Family Medicine Residency because it's a program with a strong and well structured curriculum that gives the opportunity to help and to learn from a wide diversity of patients with different backgrounds. Her special interest is to work among the underserved population. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and family. She loves them hugely! Andrea was very impressed by the warm and friendly environment of the faculty. She feels blessed for the great opportunity to become part of this excellent team.

Karen deSouza Ferreira, MD- Dr. de Souza Ferreira was born and raised in Lima, Peru where she completed medical school at “Universidad de San Martin de Porres”. She did a combined rural internship year in Lima and then worked as a house physician and as a surgical assistant at a plastic surgery clinic. She is also a singer/songwriter, plays guitar, drums and harmonica and has performed at venues in NYC, Tampa, Miami and Lima, Peru.

Virginia E. Gonzalez, MD- Dr. Gonzalez was born and raised in Miami, FL. She attended Florida International University and obtained her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences before attending Ross University School of Medicine. She taught Biology peer review for undergraduates at FIU and Cultural Competency and medical Spanish courses at both University of Miami Miller school of Medicine and FIU-COM before attending medical school. Her interests include interior design, animal rescue, and music. She enjoys spending time with family, painting, and going out with friends.

Keasha Guerrier, MD- Dr. Guerrier was born in Manhattan NY and was raised on Long Island. She graduated from New York Institute of Technology with a major in fine arts, and a minor in Spanish. She is a 2011 graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana Cuba. She speaks fluent Spanish and enjoys playing volleyball, practicing yoga, and fitness. Dr. Guerrier hopes to use her passion for primary care to make an impact in community and global health.

Vinod Kumar, MD- Dr. Kumar was born and raised in southern part of Pakistan. Being interested in Medicine since childhood, he went to one of well known medical schools, Chandka Medical College. After graduation, he has worked in different hospitals and community projects and has also worked as a volunteer research assistant at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY. He enjoys sports and likes to socialize.

Sarabjit Lalri, MD- Dr.Lalri was born in picturesque Vancouver, British Columbia. He was honored to receive his medical degree from St Georges University. He majored in biochemistry and psychology at the University of British Columbia. He enjoys playing his tabla drums and has had the privilege of performing in front of large audiences. Like a true Canadian he has been playing competitive hockey since a young age. He lives by the words, “everything is possible for him who believes.”

Gbemisola Olorode, MD, MPH- Dr. Olorode was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria and received her medical training at University of Ibadan College of Medicine, Nigeria. Before moving to the United States, she worked at a private hospital and also volunteered with Pro-Health International to provide free health care services to underserved communities in Nigeria. She received her MPH degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston in May 2013. While enrolled in MPH program, she worked as a graduate research assistant at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She likes dancing, hairdressing and loves working with children. She is also a member of a choir.

Marco Perez, MD- Dr. Perez was born in Queens, NY. He became interested in family medicine while studying medical ethics at the Bronx High School of Science and went on to obtain his medical degree from the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba. He is interested in social and community medicine and working to fight health care disparities.

Kieran Py, MD- Dr. Py was born just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but it is on Long Island that he has lived the vast majority of his life. He received a B.S. degree in Biology from SUNY Geneseo in Western New York and, while working on obtaining his Medical Degree from Ross University, he spent two years on the Island of Dominica. Dr. Py completed his clinical years training in NYC and Long Island. At a young age he began to develop a strong interest in Family Medicine and is proud to be training at a hospital minutes from where he was raised. Other interest's of Dr. Py's include: live music, sports, travel, and spending time outdoors.

Hovik Shilgevorkyan, MD- Dr. Shilgevorkyan received his medical degree from St. George’s University. He graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. His passion in biomedical science and its application in a clinical surrounding instituted his interest for medicine. Dr. Shilgevorkyan hopes to combine his love for primary care with his interest in sports medicine. He speaks fluent Armenian and enjoys basketball, hockey, as well as weight-training. Dr. Shilgevorkyan loves traveling and sharing new experiences, in addition to spending time with family and friends.

PGY 1 Class

Oladapo Akinsipe M.D- Dr. Akinsipe was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He majored in Life Sciences at McMaster University for his undergraduate studies and moved on to obtain his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine. He underwent two years of clinical rotations in New York as medical student. He was also a junior faculty at department of clinical medicine at Ross University. Dr. Akinsipe is passionate about family medicine and excited to be a part of Southside Hospital. He enjoys traveling, music, sports and outdoor activities.

Carly Bushman, MD - Dr. Bushman was born and raised on Long Island, NY. She majored in Biology and Studio Art at Binghamton University and graduated from American University of Antigua College of Medicine. Throughout college, medical school and prior to starting residency she worked for North Shore LIJ Center for EMS. She also enjoys yoga, music, as well as learning Spanish and Sign Language.

Javier Cadena, MD - Dr. Cadena was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia and received his medical degree from the Universidad Libre de Cali Programa de Medicina. He practiced as a general physician in Colombia for 6 years before coming to SSH FMRP. He became interested in family medicine during clinical clerkship because of a love for primary care. He enjoys cooking, dancing, and cycling. He represented the Colombia Cycling Team in the Pan American games in Ecuador. He is fluent in Spanish and English.

Kamna Gupta, MD - Dr. Gupta was born in India and moved to NYC at the age of 14. She obtained her MD from American University of Antigua. She enjoys swimming, dancing and spending time with family and friends. She loves New York City and is always open to exploring new hobbies and activities. Dr. Gupta feels blessed and proud to be a resident at SSH to further her training and become an excellent Family Physician.

Sam Hash, MD - Dr. Hash was born in New Jersey and received his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Biology at Pacific Union College where he was also a Lab Instructor in Microbiology. He enjoys photography and he speaks English, French and French Creole.

Revathy Nair, MD - Dr. Nair was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. She studied Biology at Stony Brook University and became fascinated by field of medicine. Her enthusiasm about medicine subsequently led her to obtain her medical degree from the American University of Antigua. Dr. Nair has a strong interest in family medicine due to the emphasis placed on the health of the community and providing care to underserved communities. Her exposure thus far has made her a firm believer in preventative medicine through patient education. During her free time she enjoys travel, dance, cook, watch sports, and spending time with her family and friends.

Caroline Rouzeau, MD - Dr. Rouzeau was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario, in Canada and went on to obtain her medical degree from Universidad Iberoamericana in Dominican Republic. Dr. Rouzeau has evolved in a multicultural environment and thanks to that, she speaks fluent English, French, Haitian Creole, and is very competent in Spanish. She found her interest in family medicine after she cared for a wide variety of patients wounded by the January 12th, 2010 earthquake, in Haiti. Dr. Rouzeau has special interests in women’s health, nutrition and fitness, and she is very excited to start her medical training at Southside Hospital. She also loves reading, exercising, having fun, and enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends.

Michelle Snyder, MD - Dr. Snyder was born in Pittsburgh, PA. She began her path to medicine as a cardiothoracic ICU nurse at Shands at the University of Florida where she developed a strong compassion for patient-centered care. She earned her medical degree from American University of Antigua. She has a special interest in women’s health and OB/GYN. She has three beautiful children. Her hobbies include art, language, music, and travel. She is an avid scuba diver and holds certification as a divemaster.

Ebikaboere Youkedebah, MD - Dr Youkedebah is from Bayelsa State, Nigeria but raised in Port-Harcourt and Lagos, Nigeria. She obtained her B.Sc in Biochemistry at Temple University, Philadelphia before attending Ross University School of Medicine. Dr Youkedebah loves writing poetry, listening to music, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

The Local Area

Southside Hospital is located in Bay Shore, NY on the south shore of Long Island. This location offers numerous tourist opportunities. Long Island is home to fabulous beaches (the ferry to Fire Island leaves from Bay Shore) and various venues offer local sports events and musical concerts and shows (the Boulton Center, Jones Beach Theater, Nassau Coliseum, Westbury Music Fair). Long Island has its own host of museums and culinary delights and New York City is easily accessible via car or via the Long Island Railroad.

(631) 968-3295

Get in touch with us!

Applicants invited for interview will be notified by email. For additional information on how to apply contact Margaret Manzari.